Neck Pain Solutions???

[drummergrl]

I have a sharp shooting pain down the right side of my neck, and not to be overly puny, but it's cramping my style!!! I have a real problem with tension and spasms. I have chronic spasms in my back and neck, which I'm nearly used to, but this shooting pain is new.

I'm terrified to see a chiropractor- it seems like they're bad for SM (I still have a residual syrinx) and I have two rods from T3-L4. Massage therapy has always made me nervous, since it's not someone with a lot of medical training and I have a lot of "hardware!" So what do I do?? The pain keeps me up at night and is becoming somewhat debilitating (in grad school and hurts to read/look down).

What works for you? Hear flares up my residual inflammation. Any tips? I'm desperate!!

[syrinx48]

Have you tried to put a heat pac in your neck. Most of us benefit from the warmth. It makes the musscles relax, which is also good for the spasms. Others cannot stand heat, but uses cold pacs, you have to try what is best for you.

Annemarie

PS. I now see that you say that hear (=heat) flares up your problems.....

[gunflint]

Personally I steer clear of Chiropractors. They can work wonders for musculoskeletal issues but very few GPs know much about SM let alone Chiropractors. Are you taking anything for neuropathic pain? Gabapentin and Lyrica can greatly reduce "nerve" pain for some of us.

[drummergrl]

Thanks for your replies! I take 900 mg of Gabapentin a day. Is Lyrica similar enough, or do you think it would be worth it to talk to my GP or neuro about switching?

[gunflint]

Lyrica is supposed to be stronger than Gabapentin. But before switching ask your doctor about increasing your Gabapentin. I was taking 1800 mgs a day for over a year then I had some breakthrough pain and we increased it to 2700 before I switched to Lyrica. I'm off both now until May and I miss it.

[reedy]

Massage helps me. I see it as treating symptoms, not causes. Feels good, gets me moving a bit better for a while.

Stay away from chiros unless you are COMPLETELY sure they know what they are doing. They are an unregulated system, and unlike massage people, they often advocate dramatic action on your spinal column. They can do long term damage.

[reedy]

To add more varied viewpoints - here is another thread on chiros:
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=14184

[drummergrl]

Thank you!!! I'm planning to see my GP in a few weeks, once law school finals are over. I will talk to him about maybe increasing the Gabapentin. I currently take all 900 mg. at night because I'm not very big and taking it during the day completely wiped me out. I wonder if increasing the dosage but staggering it throughout the day could help. I've got to get in to see him and have these discussions. I've never been good about admitting pain/symptoms because I hate getting any pushback or rejection, but I'm getting a little desperate!

I might try massage, too. It just makes me nervous to have anyone messing with my back and neck because of the rods and syrinx. Maybe I'm just being too paranoid. Heat makes me miserable, but I've been using ice religiously on my back and neck and hope that will start helping.

Thanks for your suggestions

[reedy]

If you are in law school you are probably like me, spending lots of time slouched over books or a computer. I KNOW the inactivity is terrible for me, I can see the negative results, yet its really hard to take a break and do something active since I'm usually behind and feel like I just need to push a little harder on the desk work. That's the route to badness and trouble!

Massage works for me as a kind of substitute for real activity. And once I have a massage, I get out more, so there's a good cascade effect. Some of it comes from the massage, so its real, and I think some of it comes from having spent some money and time on this, so I feel I'd better make the most of it. (Luckily there is a massage person who is very reasonably priced and who comes to our work, so my investment isn't too huge)

[drummergrl]

Yep, that's what my days are like! Luckily, my rods prevent any slouching...but I sit still at a library table nearly all day every day. I do try to swim at least 1x/week, but it's not enough to make me feel active. And my body is way too "delicate" (as I like to put it!) for anything too strenuous, so maybe massage would really work for me. I'll look into it. Thanks!

[reedy]

Swimming!! Good for you! I keep thinking I should get back to it, but I hesitate because of the time and organisation it takes,I worry about being unstable on the pool side, and other little silly excuses. What stroke do you do and how long or far do you swim? I feel like if I only did a few laps it might be good progress. Maybe this weekend - get a jump on the holiday indulgences....

[drummergrl]

My endurance isn't where I want it to be yet, so I usually only make it about 25-30 minutes. I was a competitive swimmer for freestyle and butterfly as a teenager, but they both strain my neck too much. I've been doing a sort of modified breaststroke recently- trying to stay nearly level on the water so when I lift to breathe I don't kink my neck. Every once in a while I'll do backstroke, but for some reason I've always found it boring!

I hope you try it again, I've really loved being active without overdoing it. It is definitely easy to convince myself to skip it though, because of the hassle and time commitment of being all wet!!! But it's worth it.

[jfreema]

Baclofen has helped my neck problems tremendously.

[TabulaRasa]

Gabapentin and acupuncture so far has done wonders for my neck/shoulder pain and migraines